ATLANTA — Daniel Vogelbach is hardly the only Mets player with underwhelming numbers, but he understands the nature of the beast.
As somebody who hasn’t produced enough hits — especially home runs — in a job that demands offensive proficiency and little else, the Mets designated hitter has become a lightning rod of sorts to the fan base of a team that has struggled to find consistency this season.
“I want to win more than anybody in the world and when you feel you aren’t doing your part to help a team win, yeah, it sucks,” Vogelbach said Wednesday before the Mets faced the Braves at Truist Park. “But I am not going to shy away from getting punched in the mouth and going right back at it.”
It’s a lineup in which Pete Alonso and Brandon Nimmo have been the only constants, with a huge assist in May from rookie Francisco Alvarez, who entered play in an 0-for-15 skid.
“Everybody is kind of going through it at the same time it feels like,” Vogelbach said. “Pete and Nimmo have been pretty consistent, but there’s a lot of really good hitters right now in our lineup that — I don’t want to say they are searching — but it just hasn’t gone the way they want it to go.”
Struggling Met Daniel Vogelbach said he is “not going to shy away from getting punched in the mouth and going right back at it.”USA TODAY Sports via Reuters ConVogelbach entered Wednesday with a .209/.345/.304 slash line, two homers and 14 RBIs in 139 plate appearances.
Over his previous 18 games, he was 6-for-47 (.128) with 16 strikeouts and only one extra-base hit.
Manager Buck Showalter, however, has largely remained committed to Vogelbach in the DH spot, leaving rookie Mark Vientos on the bench.
The decision wouldn’t be so pronounced if the Mets were producing offensively, but the team entered Wednesday having scored four runs or fewer in seven straight games.
“Sometimes you run through periods in the major leagues where the matchups just aren’t there,” Showalter said. “Sometimes it’s … history or projections and all the tools that come across my desk about projecting things. We’re all somehow trying to predict the future in a very unpredictable game.”
Vogelbach was 5-for-15 (.333) with two homers lifetime against Braves starter Charlie Morton, which played a factor in his inclusion in the lineup Wednesday. But Showalter said there are other variables, such as pitch sequencing and swing path, that go into the decisions.
“I know it’s always a story whether it’s who is playing and what order and we have nine spots,” Showalter said. “If you look at all the stuff that we look at, we came to that conclusion for that game. There will be another game tomorrow to critique.”
Data can be deceiving, especially in small sample sizes, which means digging deep in search of the right answers.
But Vogelbach has struggled to find hits over a prolonged stretch. When he doubled against the Blue Jays on Saturday it was his first extra-base hit and first RBI since May 7. The fans have voiced their disapproval, booing Vogelbach at Citi Field.
“The fans want to win and I get it, but we want to win just as bad,” Vogelbach said. “If I could control never going through a slump or never going through what I have been going through, I would choose that. But this is what you sign up for.”
The rookie Vientos, who last started Sunday, owns a .167/.143/.167 slash line in 32 at-bats. He is yet to receive an extended stretch in the Mets lineup.
“Whatever they have for me is what I have got to do,” Vientos said.
